The Woman of His Dreams (repeat) (27 July 2007)
We expected episode 206, "The Woman of His Dreams" to air on June 22 but instead we got a second repeat of episode 207, "A Vicious Cycle." Well, this past Friday (27 July 2007) the episode finally aired again and the wait was well worth it. (click here for the MelindaVerse information on this episode.)
The episode opens with take on a classic horror scene. A black car pulls up in the dark and we see the legs of a mysterious stranger dressed in black getting out in front of Mel's house. A glance at the house shows a dense fog in front of the porch. The mysterious stranger is carrying a black bag with a narrow red strip. Jim opens the door with apprehension.
A recurring theme in this episode is how people are attracted to one another because of physical attractiveness. In the first scene, we find Jim and Mel disagreeing on how they feel about others would look at them if they were models. Mel likes the idea but Jim is very possessive about other men admiring Melinda. This comes up again at a poker game with Jim and his friends. The friends claim he only host the game when Melinda is away because he doesn't want them to look at her. From this exchange it is clear that Jim's male friends regard Mel as very attractive.
Concern about her own physical attractiveness is a big issue for the main ghost.
I love it that Ghost Whisperer, the fantasy show, takes on serious subjects and treats them intelligently. This episode brings out for me the very real issue of American women's obsession with "beauty". The makers of Dove, the soap and cosmetic products, have a campaign to help girls and women get a healthier image of what "beauty" is. In this episode, GW takes on unhealthy attitudes toward attractiveness and the unintended consequences of beauty at any price. The ghost wants to rescue her sister from the obsession that cost her own life. I also liked the tie-in with Egyptian mythology and the cat-goddess Bast (sometimes called Bastet), who protects women.
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It is in this episode that Tim and Delia meet, and we see once again what a bad liar Jim is. It's another example of unintended consequences -- Jim wants Tim to go with him to the model's funeral (because at this point Jim doesn't yet know that the model-ghost is interested in Jim and not Mel). He tells Delia that Tim is crazy about models and that is why Jim is accompanying Tim to the funeral. So later, at the funeral, Tim remarks to Jim what a handsome woman Delia is, and later confuses Delia (who still remembers Jim's lie) by telling her models are too skinny and he prefers women with more meat on their bones. Later on, we will see how it contributes to the miscommunication between Delia and Tim. And it's not the last time that Jim - and Mel - meddle in the Tim-Delia relationship.
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Good point, Lillie Rose. Jim has another problem with being a bad liar in this episode when he follows Melinda's suggestion to go to Rick Payne for help. Jim tells to Payne he is writing a book and needs help with some dream images of a cat and beetles -- a ruse Rick easily sees through.
When Rick finally confronts Melinda in "Cat's Claw", Jim's lying about writing a book is one of the points he brings up to prove his claim Mel is not the antiques dealer she claims to be.
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Jim is just too much of a straight arrow to be able to lie convincingly. He also tried to lie to Rick when Rick ran into him at the news stand; Jim was caught in the act of buying a lot of magazines with models on them (while Mel is out of town, thinks Rick) and Jim's response is really lame.
Melinda, on the other hand, has learned the art of dissimulation, since she often has to stretch the truth about her "gift".
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